Turkey refrains from economic sanctions against the Netherlands

Turkey will not impose economic sanctions against the Netherlands, according to the Minister of Economic Affairs during a press conference in Ankara. Earlier this week, the option of economic sanctions was kept in mind after the diplomatic relations between the two countries froze.

“Let it be clear. Our economic and trade relations with other countries, including the Netherlands, will not be brought to the table during this process,” according to minister Nihat Zeybekci. He further indicated that the relationship has existed for 400 years already, and that there were hardly any problems during those four centuries.

The relationship between the Netherlands and Turkey cooled when the Netherlands denied two Turkish ministers access to the country last weekend. The ministers wanted to campaign in the Netherlands in the run-up to a referendum in April about a constitutional amendment in Turkey.

On Monday, it already became clear that economic sanctions against the Netherlands would be difficult due to provisions in the association treaty between Turkey and the EU. An overview of trade flows between the countries, based on Eurostat’s figures, follows.